UNC going for 4th Straight Win vs. Boston College
by Sharon Thorsland
North Carolina is rolling. The Tar Heels have won three straight after a 31-24 victory over Wake Forest last week, and look to make it four in a row when they face Boston College on Saturday in Chestnut Hill. Kick-off is set for noon on WBT. UNC (6-4) became bowl eligible last week, and the Eagles are looking to do that as well but they’re trending in the wrong direction. They started the season with a pair of wins and a #24 ranking before going cold; they’re just 1-4 in their last five games and 5-5 overall.
The Eagles like to run the football, they rank seventh in the ACC averaging 176 yards per game on the ground. Kye Robichaux leads the way – he’s a big, physical back who has racked up 561 yards and eight touchdowns on the year. And he’s only played in five games! The Eagles switched quarterbacks mid-season, with junior Grayson James taking over for Thomas Castellanos, who entered the transfer portal after being benched earlier this month. James started his first game last week against SMU, throwing for 237 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Look for the Tar Heels to try to rattle him early and force the Eagles to turn to their run game. When James is throwing, he’s looking for Lewis Bond. He leads the Eagles with 46 catches for 464 yards and has three touchdowns. And keep an eye out for Reed Harris – the freshman can take the top off of defenses, he’s averaging a whopping 33 yards per catch and has a pair of touchdowns. Senior tight end Kamari Morales has five scores, and dual threat running back Treshaun Ward has four receiving touchdowns to go with two on the ground. They’ll face a North Carolina defense that has come alive over the past three games. The Tar Heels forced three fumbles against Wake last week, including a strip sack fumble and a pick six and they’re fifth in the nation with 34 sacks on the season.
The Eagles have their own sack specialist in Donovan Ezeiruaku. The senior defensive end leads the team in tackles and has three forced fumbles and 11 sacks, that ranks fourth in the nation. The Eagles are pretty solid against the run, allowing 130 rushing yards per game. But they’ll have their hands full with UNC star running back Omarion Hampton, who racked up a career high 244 rushing yards last week and ranks second in the nation with 1422 yards on the season. If Hampton gets rolling again on Saturday, good luck stopping him! The Heels will need a better performance out of quarterback Jacolby Criswell, who struggled against Wake Forest with just 14 completed passes for 132 yards.
These teams have only faced off eight times before, with UNC winning six of them. They’ve won five straight in the rivalry, the most recent back in 2020. They seem to be going in different directions now – look for UNC to make it four straight wins and six in a row over the Eagles. Go Tar Heels
